Portable and collapsible table for automobiles.



W. SGHWEITZER & H. H. LABADIE.

n. n. LABADIE, ADMINISTRATOR or w. sonwmmzmz, nno'n.

PORTABLE AND GOLLAPSIBLE TABLE FOR. AUTOMOBILES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 21, 1913.

1,129,609, 7 Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHBETSSHEET 1- i MA Y H 4540/5,

W. SGHWEITZER & H.,H. LABADIE.

H. H. LABADIE, ADMINISTRATOR 0F w. SGHWEITZER, DEO'D.

PORTABLE AND GOLLAPSlBLE TABLE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZI, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ham

Patented Feb. 23

mum/w fiaywi/rzls? HARE) A/ Z454Pl WILLIAM SCHWEITZER AND HARRY H.LABADIE,"OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; HARRY H. LAIBADIE ADMINISTRATOR 0F SAIDSCHWEITZER, DECEASED.

PORTABLE ANiJ' oonLAPsIBLE TABLE FOR AUTQ OBILEs.

Specification of- Letters Patent. P tented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application filed July 21, 1913. Serial No. 780,221.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, WILLIAM SCHWEIT- ZER and HARRY H. LABADHJ, citizensof the United States, and residents of the city of Chicago,'inthe countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have jointly invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Portable and Collapsible Tables for Automobiles;and we do hereby declare that the following description of our saidinvention, taken in connection with the accompanying sheets of drawings,form a full, clear, and exactspec ification, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which our said invention appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention has general reference to improvements in portable andcollapsible tables for automobiles, and it consists, essentially, in thenovel and peculiar combination of parts anddetails of construction, ashereinafter first fully set forth and described,'and then pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings already referred to, which serve to illustrate our saidinvention more fully, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of atouring car body with our collapsible'table installed therein. Fig. 2 isa transverse section of a fragment of our device. Fig. 3 is a section inline 33'of Fig.

'2. Fig.4 is a like section of a modified'form of detail of constructiontaken as in line 44 of Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are perspec= tive views ofessentially similar devices formaintaining a luncheon case, forming thetable member 'of the lnvention, ln'connectlon with the supporting meanstherefor. Fig. 7

is a section of a fragment in line'7-7 of vFig. 2.

Like parts are designated by corresponding characters or symbols ofreference in all the figures of the drawings.

It is one aim of our invention to provide for. the use of touringmotorists a conven-' ient, collapsible, and portable luncheon car- "rierand table which is supported from the floor of an automobile and causedto forcibly 7 rest against the rear of the front seat thereof to impartan ample'degree of steadiness to said table.

table top proper is the cover, within which case are provided outwardlymovable trays; to one of which trays said .cover is hinged.

The said trays are adapted forthe reception tion of compartments toprevent the mixing to-- gether of the variety of foodstuffs containedtherein. They do not occupy the entire interior of the case, there beingroom beyond both ends-thereof and the case end walls, and between thetrays and back of the case for bottles and flasks of variousdescriptions, and also for the necessary dishes required. The luncheoncase element of our invention has been separated from this applicationand filed as a divisional application May 11, 1914, Serial No. 837,196,and the essence of this parent application is the provision of simpledevices to support the said case in position within the car and tofacilitate its removal therefrom. In view of the fact that there is agreat divergence in the details of design and measurement of the bodiesof the various makes of touring cars, the supports for said case areprovided with sufficient adjustments to' render the same practicallyapplicable to any automobile without change or modification. Theaforesaid divergence resides mainly in the rearward slope of the back ofthe frontseat and the height of said back. We have,

therefore, (after securing the required information from the makers ofall standard cars) designed our invention so that thecase disclosed andclaimed in the hereinbefore indicated divisional application, and

hereinafter referred to generallyas the table member B. Soft rubberbuttons 10.are affixed to -this member .at points where the same areintended-to contact with the rear wall F of the automobile seat F toafforda resiliency of contact preventive of vibra-,

parts while the automobile is in motion. 7

Fastened to the floor of the automobile by through bolts 85 are a pairof floor bases S, located parallel to the seat back F, a proper distanceapart. Said floor bases are ea h possessed of an upstanding hub 60,internally bored to freely "receive a vertical standard or post 61 andprovided with slotted lugs 62 at its upper end. Through said lugs ispassed a bolt 63 provided with a thumb nut 64, whereby the post 61 maybe firmly clamped in position.

At the upper end of-each of the standards or posts 61 is firmly brazedor otherwise attached a sleeve 65 having upwardly and outwardlyprojecting hinge lugs'66 and 67 and a pintle 68. Embracing said pintlebetween said hinge lugs is a hinge lip 69 deending from a fiatoscillable metallic blade 0. On each of the said posts or standards 61,adjacent the upper end of the hubs 60, there is freely mounted a sleeve74 having ears 75, between which ears is retained a rodlOO by means of abolt and thumb nut 77; and, pivoted to the lower face of each of theblades 70 near the outer ends thereof is a rod 101, which' rod isconnected to rod 100 by a right and left hand turnbuckle 102, therebeing mating threads at the free ends of said rods engaging like threadsin said turnbuckle, whereby longitudinal adjustment of said rods isprovided for, thereby making possible a variation of the angularity ofblades 70 with respect to the posts or standards 61, in an evidentmanner. Medially of each of the said blades 70 is located a thumbscrew108, adapted for frictional engagement with guide channels 105, clearlyseen in Fig. 7. Two of these guide channels are fixed to a bottom 2 orlike element of the so-called table member B a proper distance apart toslidably engage the blades 70, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

To engage the table member B with the blades 70, the guides 105 or 106,as the case may be, are slipped over the blades 70 and embrace the samefor their entire length, after which, pressure applied by rotating thethumb screws 108 located in said blades 70, against said guides,willmaintain them and table member B in fixed position; to remove thelatter the said thumb screws are loosened and the same slid ofi theblades, as easily understood.

The application of our invention to an automobile may now be disclosed,it being understood that the table member B has been previously engagedwith the blades 70, and that said blades and all the other parts such asthe rods 100 and 101, the turnbuckle 102, the posts 61, nuts 77, sleeves65 and 74, nuts 64, and bases S have been placed in assembledrelationship, but not fixed in cooperative adjustment. The table memberB is first lifted flush with the top of the back F of the seat F and thesloping top wall 1 of the table member B arranged to lie in a horizontalplane. The bases S are then shifted as close to the said wall F aspossible and fastened to the floor of the automobile by through bolts85, the elongated surface 85 of said bases being arranged in the line ofstresses created by turnbuckles 102 as below indicated. The bases beingwell secured to the floor of the car, it will be noted that the entireweight of the table member B is supported by them and their relatedparts. Now, in order to maintain the table member B non-susceptible tovibration independently of the natural vibration of the car itself, allthat is necessary is to tighten nuts 74 and 75 and rotate theturnbuckles 102 in the proper direction to enforce a suflicientfrictional contact of the I soft buttons 10 on the table member B withthe back F of the seat F in a manner readily comprehended.

While we have herein disclosed the preferred method of construction, wedesire it understood that we may make such changes and alterations aswould suggest themselves" to one skilled in the art and permitted underthe doctrine of mechanical equivalents.

f Having thus fully disclosed our invention we claim as new and desireto secure to ourselves by Letters Patent of the United States 2-- 1. Anautomobile luncheon table, including, in combination, a table member,supports fixed to the floor of an automobile and the like, wholly andentirely supporting said table member, and crowding means in thereof,adjustable members connecting said standards and oscillable members, atable member superimposed on said oscillable members and connectedthereto, said adjustable members being adapted to enforce frictionalcontact of said table member with an adjacent automobile seat back andthe like, and floor members adapted to be fixed to the floor of anautomobile, wholly and entirely supporting said standards.

3. An automobile luncheon table, including in combination, a tablemember, supports having bases fixed to the floor of an automobile andthe like,.wholly and entirely supporting said table member, and crowdingmeans in connection with said supports and table member adapted toenforce frictional contact of said table member with-an adj acent seatback of such'automobile and the like, the bases of said supports beingin line with the stresses created by said crowding means.

4. The combination with a table member of oscillable lateral membersconnected to the'bottom thereof, uprights supporting said lateralmembers, adjustable means connected to said uprights. and the outer end.of said lateral members, whereby the upper end of said table member maybe crowded into frictional contact with an adjacent seat back of anautomobile and the like, and floor stands adapted to be fixed to thefloor of such automobile, wholly and entirely supporting said uprights.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence oftwo subscrlbing witnesses.

WILLIAM SCHWEITZER. HARRY H. LABADIE.

In the presence of- ARNOLD N. LURIE, WILLIAM O. STARK.

